


Untamed Water

by SilkTopHat



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Post-Series, Romance, University
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-15 09:54:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12318657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilkTopHat/pseuds/SilkTopHat
Summary: A post-highschool Haru has settled into university life, competing for his school and still aiming for the Olympics, but life without a certain someone has left him feeling like even water has become too tame.





	1. Life, such as it is.

**Author's Note:**

> **DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Free!, no characters, themes, or attributions. I submit this work with no financial gain.**
> 
>  
> 
> Hi there. I wrote this because I couldn’t find the Free! Fanfic I was really looking for, so I figured I’d give a shot at writing it in case anyone else felt like they’d been searching for this kind of story. I’m not fully sure where I’ll take it, right now, but I welcome comments and such. Those who are better with “lore” and facts than me please point out pieces that do not seem logical or possible with the series.
> 
> It’ll ease into the saucy parts, no one-shots here, sorry folks. Perhaps when they come I’ll come back and edit this to tell you which chapters.
> 
> In the end, I mostly wrote this because googling ‘anime like free but with romance’ returned no helpful hits.

“Phytoplankton are agents for primary production, the creation of organic compounds from carbon dioxide dissolved in the water, a process that sustains the aquatic food web and in turns feeds each of the world’s oceans…”

Without phytoplankton, the ocean would have no life.

Without the ocean, he would have no life.

Nanase Haruka stared at the whiteboard before him. Slides showing oceanic food chains switched to phytoplankton life cycles, but his brain did not follow the switch. His mind remained on food chains, on organisms that would not survive without the other. Like his friends to him.

The students around him began bustling and standing up, and Haruka blinked, glancing from side to side as he realized the lecture was over. The profession can’t have quit in the middle of a sentence. A glance at the clock told him nearly 15 minutes had gone by since he had zoned out. He slowly shoved his things into a shoulder bag and stood.

“Hey, Fukuhara, can I borrow your notes from Marine Geochemistry? I want to study on the break”

“Want to get a snack on the way back to dorm, Kasumi-chan?”

“Shota-kun! Have a good break! See you in two weeks!”

All around him, students were calling out to one another, laughing and smiling. Marine Biodiversity was the last class most Ocean Sciences students had before the break. Everyone around him was excited to get going with their plans for the time off they now had for spring break. Ten days without classes.

Ten days without distractions. Ten days to swim.

While the ocean was still not warm enough to swim in (Haru would swim in it anyways, thank you very much, but then Makoto would probably scold him), Haru had the advantage of the University pool. A member of the swim team, he’d asked for access to it while everyone was away for the break. As the team’s champion freestyle swimmer, he’d been given a pass for the break with no resistance. Anything to keep him happy and winning races, he supposed. 

He walked to his dorm room, crystal blue eyes staring at everything and nothing. He unlocked the door to his room and dropped his bag on a table just inside it. Glancing around the empty space, he reveled a moment in the quiet. His late-afternoon class had been one of the last ones at the school. Save the few unlucky students who had a night class, most were already gone to start their spring vacations. At least, no noise penetrated the walls of his space.

Haru headed instantly for the bathroom, pulling his t-shirt over his head and tossing it into a basket on top of the toilet. His pants soon followed, and he nearly got into the tub before remembering he had not yet put any water in. Bathing was a near daily after-class ritual for him, when he couldn’t go right to the pool (his pass started tomorrow, tonight the pool was being cleaned). How had he forgot to put water in the tub? Staring at the stream of water as the tub filled, he wondered why he had been so unfocussed today. Sinking into the tub he gave his head a quick shake to clear it, closed his eyes and leaned back against the edge, his head slipping below the surface.

Tame water. Tame Haru.

He was surprised by a voice at the bathroom door, and rose his head above water quickly to find himself looking at Makoto, who was standing in the bathroom smiling kindly at him. Some things never change.

“Haru? Did you forget I was coming over?” Makoto asked him, offering him a hand out of the bath.

Why did he always do that? He wasn’t likely to kill himself exciting a bath tub. “No.” Haru said, shaking his wet hair out of his eyes. He grabbed Makoto’s hand and stood up.

“Haru.. still? You’re going to be twenty next year.” Makoto tutted and laughed.

Haru stared down at his swimsuit. “What does that matter?”

“Ah.. never mind. You’ll never change, will you, Haru?”

Haru blinked at Makoto, saying nothing. Everything changes.

He and Makoto sat at the small table and chairs situated in Haru’s tiny dorm kitchen. Haru grabbed two sports drinks from his fridge and offered one to Makoto, who took it with thanks.

“How are classes going, Haru?” At Haru’s shrug, Makoto laughed. “I have to admit; I was pretty surprised when you chose a science-based major. I am still surprised you didn’t go into art, or cooking.”

“I want to swim.” Haru said simply, although for him such a sentence could never be simple.

“Ah, I know. But you are already on the swim team. You would be swimming regardless of your major.” 

“Even the best swimmers retire early.” Haru replied, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. “I don’t want to be forced out of the water.”

Makoto blinked at Haru, then laughed. “Ah, I’m glad.” They sat in silence a moment, comfortable for Haru but challenging for Makoto. Luckily a full life’s friendship with Haru had taught him the value in letting the lithe black-haired man have his silences.  
“Rei and Nagisa-kun will be sad you’re not coming back to Iwatobi for the break.” Makoto said softly. He laughed as Haru glanced at him with a pained expression. “They know, your parents sold that house when you moved to Tokyo. And they know you’ll be staying here to keep swimming. But they’ll be sad, still. Maybe I can convince them to come to Tokyo to visit us.” 

Haru’s eyes sparkled hopefully for a moment, and Makoto’s smile widened. “Yeah. I’d like that too.” Makoto stood, stretching his powerful shoulders. Makoto swam with the swim team at their university as well, but did not participate in as many competitions as Haru. He was working part-time at a local community pool, while studying sports medicine and teaching. Haru had gone to see him a few times as he taught kids to swim, and had never seen him look more at home. “I need to get going, I booked an early flight home to Iwatobi tomorrow morning. Have fun over the week, Haru. I’ll see you two days before classes start back up.”

Later that night, Haru lay on his back in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His eyes drifted to his dresser, on top of which were two framed photos. One was after the regionals relay in second-year of high school, 5 swimmers smiling hugely for the camera. The second was a photo of his relay team third-year of high school, when they had placed 6th at the national competition. His eyes settled on the fifth swimmer of the first picture, who was absent from the other photo. A frown creased his face, and he rolled over and put his back to the dresser.

Rin…


	2. A sudden change

The landing gear touching down on tarmac brought a well-built man in his late-teens out of a deep reverie. A lopsided grin met his face as he gazed out the window and saw his home country of Japan. It had been over a year since he’d last been back.

_“Welcome to Tokyo. Thank you for flying Japan Airlines. Please stay seated until the airplane has come to a complete stop…”_

Stay seated? The man groaned and leaned back in his seat, foot bouncing with an overall lack of patience. His heart rate had leapt into a rapid crescendo when the airplane’s wheels had touched down, to the point he found the seatbelt of the economy class seat no better than handcuffs.

Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeoncomeoncomeoncomeoncomeoncomeon..

“Welcome home, Matsuoka-San.” The customs official said curtly, handing him back his passport. Rin Matsuoka nodded his thanks and quickly bustled through the arrivals lounge. Reddish eyes locked on the exit doors, he more or less speed-walked out of the crowded terminal, where all around him people reconnected with loved ones long-since seen. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a man about his age get tackled by another, who then thumped him on the back until the traveler shoved him off with a rude but affectionate comment. He smirked at this, thinking of Nagisa. It was something he would have done. He kept a mental note to brace himself with he arrived in Iwatobi later in the week.

It took him a moment to locate the subway, it had been awhile since he’d been in the capitol, but years of navigating another country’s transit system had made him a wise traveler. He was soon sitting in a subway car, foot bouncing again as he urged the train forward. It had been so long. Too long. Part of him wondered if he should have warned his friend first, if showing up unannounced might make the other man uncomfortable. It didn’t take much to make the blue-eyed object of his impromptu trip uncomfortable. Rin smirked to himself, considering this. He wouldn’t mind. There was something about Haruka when he was flustered.

Over a year ago he had said goodbye to the quiet, anti-social swimmer and left for Australia. Just after high school graduation. They had swum together near every day in the few weeks leading up to their departures, Rin for Sydney and Haru for Tokyo. He still remembered how happy he felt even in parting from Haru, knowing Haru now had a dream, had chosen a school program he was interested in and was actively engaged in swimming competitively. The first year of swimming in Australia had not gotten him to international competition yet, and he knew it was the same for Haru. He couldn’t wait until they met on the international stage.

Though right now, he just couldn’t wait to see the look on Haru’s face when he turned up at the university pool. 

It was the only logical place Haru would be. Haru had told Rin he was not going home for the break as he had been given a pass to the pool, all to himself, the whole week. He wondered if he had planned to be in Iwatobi all week, if Haru would have changed him mind and gone home. He tutted aloud and shook his head. If Makoto had not been able to drag him back to Iwatobi, Rin doubted he would have made much of a difference. Rin closed his eyes, imagining Haru’s reaction later today when he surprised him. Maybe he would get a full two seconds of emotion out of him. He chuckled at that, and opened his eyes to check the next station. Looking through the car, he realized a pair of eyes had been on him.

Reddish tones met brown ones as he blinked at a younger male who was openly staring at him. The high-schooler blushed and looked away, staring at the opposite wall as if it were the most intriguing thing in the world. Rin smirked again, resisting the urge to stretch or something just to see if the youth could keep his eyes away. A year of university had informed him that he was rather attractive, but his ego still revolved around his athletic ability instead of his appearance. He shook his head and closed his eyes again. Two more stops.

_“…Room 206. If there’s anything else you should need, please let us know!”_

Opening his hotel room door, he was hit with a strong memory as his eyes fell upon the single double bed. He laughed, remembering the time he and Haru had shared a bed in Australia. At the time he had still been so confused about how he felt about Haru, and had been terrified something awkward would happen while they slept. Of course nothing had, Haru was as still and quiet asleep as he was awake. He stared at the bed a bit, remembering some part during the night when he had glanced at Haru and become fixated on the muscle where the smaller man’s neck and shoulder met as the pale skin reflected the moonlight. Rin shook his head to clear the vivid picture in his mind. When it came to Haru, there was no sense getting those kinds of thoughts.

Rin dropped his bags and changed his shirt. Pulling the thin material of the comfy t-shirt he had travelled in and pulling on a soft long-sleeved T. He still mostly wore black and red, as he had noticed those colours seemed to correlate with the amount of attention he received from admiring others. Although he had not become too obsessed with his new found attractiveness, he wasn’t going to ignore the social bonuses, either. He had even dabbled a bit in dating and some accompanying activity, but had found the process thoroughly unfulfilling. After throwing his swimsuit on and putting his black jeans back on overtop, he glanced at the small mirror in the room and smiled.

Rin headed back out the door, a spring in his step. He had found a reasonably priced hotel not far from Haru and Makoto’s university, and his plan was to walk over to the university, find the pool and no doubt find Haru inside. As he bounced down the street, he imagined sneaking into the pool complex while Haru was swimming, and positioning himself quietly at the edge of the pool so when Haru stopped to breathe he would be right there.

“Oh, Hellooo Red.”

His brain snapped out of thoughts of Haru as he heard English with an accent he didn’t recognize. He glanced quickly to his left to see three American-looking girls, the tallest smiling openly at him. He frowned thoughtfully. The accent sounded somewhat familiar, but he didn’t know any Americans.

“Oh yeah. Gorgeous, eh?” The shortest girl replied with a giggle. Their friend blushed profusely. “Guys, jees, you’re being so obvious ohmygod this is embarrassing come on.” The two other girls laughed as their red-faced friend dragged them away. Rin chuckled. Canadians. That’s why the accent seemed familiar. Sydney had a lot of Canadian tourists.

Remembering some of the tourists in Sydney who had giggled about his Japanese accent when speaking English came into his mind, and he was so distracted by the memories that he barely noticed the flash of crystal blue, so familiar it made his heart ache when he saw other objects that shade, staring at him from across the cross walk. He faltered, taken aback. It was surprising enough to see Haruka outside of a pool or his home, but to see him standing around a crowd of people, directly across the road from Rin, after all these months, made Rin forget that the plan was supposed to be that he was going to surprise Haru. Judging by the stunned look on Haru’s face, Rin had still accomplished that feat.

The light switched to walk, and Rin resisted the urge to bounce with width of the road in one stride, and instead forced himself to saunter ever-so-cool up to his friend, hand in his pockets. “Haru.” He said simply, smirking. “Surprised?”

He watched (somewhat sadly) as the stunned expression left Haru’s face, and returned to a neutral, bored kind of look. “Why are you here?” Haru asked in his usual deadpan.

Rin frowned at him. “Jees, I come all the way here, and that’s what I get?” He shook his head. He wasn’t quite as thick-skinned as Makoto, and hadn’t had a full lifetime to get used to Haru’s sometimes-hurtful bluntness. He still, after all this time, expected the black-haired man to show some kind of excitement or affection towards him. He knew there was a good chance he’d be feeling that disappointment for many, many years. Rin raised his hand and placed it behind his neck, a gesture he often resorted to when uncomfortable. “You told me you were staying here over the break. I’m going up to Iwatobi in 4 days, but thought I’d stop in Tokyo and see you.” His awkward smile gained a sharp edge as he added. “Plus, you said you had the university pool all to yourself. I thought you could use a little competition to keep you in shape.”

Rin watched as Haru’s eyes, uncertain at first, flashed as he mentioned swimming together. That reaction made up for all the curt comments Haru could ever give him. Rin reveled in the knowledge that the thought of swimming with Rin still got Haru’s excitement up.

Haru walked silently beside him as they returned to the university. Rin assumed Haru was leading him to the pool complex, but as per the norm he hadn’t actually told Rin where they were going. Rin basked in Haru’s company for a moment, just enjoying matching pace with his friend for a while. “Where were you going, anyway?” Rin asked Haru, glancing down at him.

“I need more saba.”

Rin through his head back and laughed. Well, that would be a reason for Haru to venture out into public, that was for sure. When he looked back at him, Haru was staring uneasily at him. It was a strange look, and as soon as Rin noticed it it was gone and Haru was staring back ahead.

“Wow. Great pool.” Rin said admiringly as they stepped into the complex. The pool was Olympic-sized, of course, with lane dividers. There was a spa pool to the one end, and showers at the other. He noted the many details in the area, indicated the prestige and class of this university. “Your swimming team has it pretty good.” He glanced down at Haruka, who was staring at the pool and leaning towards it, evidently completely ignoring Rin. “Oh for crying out loud just go then.” Rin said, annoyance in his voice. Haru took three steps forward, hand at the bottom of his shirt to take it off, but he stopped and looked back at Rin.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

With that Haru was heading to the pool, tossing his shirt and pants aside before jumping in with a perfect dive. Rin was left staring, stock-still, mouth slightly open. It had perhaps not been the biggest show of affection the world had ever seen, but coming from Haru the words warmed Rin’s heart. 

Recovering from the surprise, Rin laughed and followed Haru, setting his clothes aside with slightly less reckless abandon and jumping into the pool himself. The temperature was just right, and Rin sighed contentedly, floating on his back and enjoying the way the water lapped at his muscles, stiff from travelling. He glanced over to see Haru looking at him, a thoughtful look passing over his eyes a moment. “What is it?” He asked the black-haired man.

“You’re bigger.”

It took everything in Rin’s power not to start spluttering.

Muscles, Rin. He’s probably referring to you having put on quite a bit more muscle weight.

He coughed to cover him his momentary panic, and shrugged. “Coach has a lot of weight training added to our training regime. Obviously you don’t want to put on a ton of muscle and be less streamline in the water, but the extra strength really helps for acceleration and stamina.” He saw Haru look down at his torso, and Rin smiled.

Don’t worry Haru. You’re fine. You’re never going to be very big. But you’re still gorgeous.

Whoa, there went that train of thought again. Rin ducked under the surface of the water and swam to the opposite edge to clear his mind. There was no sense acknowledging the fact that Haru was every bit as beautifully built as he had ever been, more-so with maturity even. There was no point in getting caught up in his endlessly clear blue eyes. There was no reason to think of Haru that way, not someone who would never have those thoughts, those feelings about him.

When he resurfaced, he suddenly sunk down and kicked off from the wall, surfacing and doing the length of the pool freestyle in the front crawl. It felt good just to move after sitting on the airplane all night and morning, and having tried to sleep on it had been the worst. When he reached the other side, Haru was there to, resurfacing and taking a few quick breaths. Rin leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He thought about the water touching him, the same water touching Haru. After so long, it was amazing just to be in the same body of water, the same space as his longtime rival, inspiration, and friend. He opened his eyes to see Haru watching him. Despite the earlier comment, Haru’s eyes didn’t move from Rin’s face. Rin cocked his head. “What?”

Haruka blinked and looked away. “Nothing.”

Rin laughed. Over a year, and nothing had changed. His Haru was the same as ever. And still, ever much, not his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it folks. Hope you like the back-and-forth perspective idea. Makes it more fun with me. Obvi I’m setting the lovey dovey stuff up, hahaha.
> 
> Please review!


	3. Currents run deep

The universe rent. All the pieces of the cosmos that ruled logic and reason had split. Bad Saba? No he hadn’t had any this morning, that was why he’d gone out to the store. Could bad Saba even cause hallucinations?

Okay that’s a little dramatic but why is this happening

Suddenly the Pacific Ocean didn’t exist. Had he missed a memo?

No that’s impossible why would you even thin- OH NO HE’S WALKING OVER HOW WHAT WHEN

With a spark of effort Haru collected himself, wiping the surprise from his face. To do so was fairly natural for him, despite whatever he was feeling he tended to keep a neutral expression. He wasn’t sure why that was his instinct, only that it always had been. Annoyance, excitement and anger sometimes broke that surface but surprise wasn't something he usually let out.

Rin asked if he was surprised. What kind of a question was that? How could he not be? For a moment of panic he ran through their recent conversations in his mind wondering if Rin meant Rin had told him he had been coming and Haru had missed it.

“Why are you here?” Haru asked uncertainly, wondering if Rin had told him he had business in Tokyo and he’d forgotten. That worried him. Most of his conversations with Rin were committed to memory, and missing such an important piece was concerning.

Watching Rin’s face fall, Haru realized he’d made an error. No, Rin had actually come here to surprise him. Him, Haru. As Rin explained this, he felt worried he had ruined the moment for Rin, perhaps he’d been expecting a different reaction.

His concerns vanished in an instant when Rin mentioned the pool. Swimming. Water. Water with Rin, swimming with Rin. He felt his heart rate jump, remembering every single time he’d ever been in a pool with Rin all at once. He watched as a grin light Rin’s face, and his eyes glanced to the sharp smile for a moment. Rin never hid what he was feeling. It was one of the things Haru liked best about him. It was easier to guess what Rin was feeling than anyone else because he had so many facial cues. Not that an excuse to look at Rin’s face was ever particularly needed. Haru loved looking at Rin. He wasn’t sure why, but it made him feel calm, and happy, like looking at the Ocean. Sometimes it even gave him the same draw and spike of energy.

“Let’s go.” He said to Rin, eyes still flashing. He started to lead RIn back to the university complex. He had headed out that morning to get more Saba, but Rin had found him before he’d accomplished that task. What was he going to eat now? He’d figure it out. Rin asked him where he’d been heading, as if reading his mind. Usually only Makoto did that.

Rin’s laugh flowed from Haru’s ears to the tips of his fingers and toes. It hummed through him like a bass note from a speaker, warming his skin as it went. That was strange. Of course, he’d always been fairly charged by Rin, but he’d never had a reaction like that before. He glanced at Rin, wondering what had happened. Why the mirth of the redhead had affected him so strongly. Rin smiled at him and then his smile froze as he blinked. Haru realized he was staring at Rin, trying to sort out the physical reaction, and glanced away politely.

As he pushed open the door to the complex, the smell of chlorine hit him like sunshine. He breathed it in, feeling more like he was coming home than he ever did entering his dorm. The only thing better was the smell of the ocean. He stared at the pool, but felt drawn to stay by RIn’s side as well. He fought the two competing impulses until Rin told him to go ahead. He started forward, then paused. Rin had sounded annoyed. He’d told Haru to go, but doing so had annoyed him. He back tracked through his mind for a moment, and realized what was missing. Haru hadn’t told Rin what this all meant to him.

Glancing back, cerulean met cranberry and Haru looked at Rin, trying to sort out how to convey the feeling of Rin being there into a sentence. Decided simplicity was best, Haru spoke. “I’m glad you’re here.” Honestly, that was the best word for it. Haru just felt glad. As he headed toward to pool, a smile broke his expression. His friend, rival, and inspiration.

As he broke the surface of the pool, he felt the water welcome and resist him in equal measure. He swam below the surface for the moment, concentrating on the feel of the liquid against his skin. He felt more than heard Rin enter the water, and revelled in the notion that they were together in the same body of water again. His brain suddenly went back to yesterday’s last lecture, about phytoplankton. In an ocean ecosystem, they were the base, the stability, the most necessary part, maybe. Haru resurfaced, standing up and shaking water out of his hair. For Haru’s ecosystem, water was the phytoplankton. Smiling slightly in spite of himself, his eyes slid to Rin, floating in the water and looking content. Or was it water?

Haru stood there, watching Rin for a moment. It had been almost 14 months since he had last seen Rin off a computer screen. He looked different. Haru studied the plains of the other man’s body, calculating differences. He realized finally what it was. “You’re bigger!” he said suddenly, realizing that Rin had put a considerable amount of muscle tone on since leaving Japan. 

As Rin coughed and answered, telling him about the strength training regime that was part of his training in Australia, Haru wondered what other differences their opposing team’s training might have. His coach focussed a lot on technicality, which was slightly frustrating for Haru who was not a fan of being told to alter his natural way of swimming, even slightly.

He glanced down at his own torso, wondering. He certainly swam “properly” more now, adhering to the wishes of his coach so that he might one day compete internationally with Rin. He wondered if he was any more muscular. He looked at himself every day so he might not notice. Maybe he was, but maybe that was more due to age than anything else.

When he looked back up to ask Rin is he thought Haru looked any different, Rin had dipped below the surface and swam away. He frowned, a spark of irritation crossing his face. He had wanted to keep talking about that. Perhaps he could ask Rin about training regimes later, though. He settled into a few quick laps of the pool, reveling in the feel of his body moving perfectly through the water. How later? How long was Rin staying? He’d said he was going to Iwatobi in 4 days. Was he planning on spending all four with Haru?

Haru popped up at the edge of the pool to take a breather. He’d been practicing breathing less in his laps, knowing that the most competitive swimmers breathed two or less times in their fifties. It was easy to stay under the water and hold his breath for ages when he was casually floating around, but while trying to gain speed he found the process strangely difficult. Forcing himself not to come up for air seemed almost counter-intuitive to him. He was getting better, though. He heard the water break and looked over to see Rin surface beside him. He watched him tilt his head back.

Rin looked so peaceful, so happy there. Was it just being in the water? But Rin could have gone anywhere and found a pool. He;d come to Tokyo. He’d come to Haru. Rin locked eyes with him, and he found himself looking for answers in Rin’s eyes to a question he couldn’t bring himself to ask allowed, which of course proved rather fruitless.

Rin cocked his head at him. “What?” he asked. Haru blinked.

Why me, Rin?

“Nothing.” He smiled as Rin laughed, glad for the sound yet again, and feeling it reverberate in his chest. Sometimes he wished he could express himself the way Rin could, but holding back was natural for him. It helped him analyze and think before he acted. 

Awhile later they were drying off after showering and putting their street clothes back on. Haru had remembered his manners and asked Rin about his flight while they had been getting ready to go, and had been happy that Rin had decided to relay every detail of his travels to Haru, who could then remain quiet and just revel in the sound of RIn’s voice. Rin put his hands in his pockets and glances expectantly at Haru once he was dressed, and Haru blinked. “So, what now?” Rin asked him, smiling.

Haru blinked. it was approaching evening now. He still hadn’t eaten, and only once Rin had just spoken had he realized how hungry he was. “Well, you interrupted my shopping.” he said the feigned coolness, and was happy to see Rin smile, understanding his tone for once. 

“Oh well excuse me.” Rin said playfully, and chuckled. “Alright, go get your Saba and then we can eat. I’m assuming you have some kind of cooking facility at your dorm?” Haru nodded, and lead Rin out of the complex.

A half hour later they were approaching Haru’s dormitory door. It was a single, bachelor style room with a kitchenette and three quarter bath. Haru unlocked the door and lead Rin inside, dropping his bag near the door and carrying the Saba tot he kitchenette. “Sit.” He told Rin, gesturing to the small table. “I’ll cook something.”

As he got to work making Saba, rice, and omelette, a bit of a strange mixture but something he knew Rin would eat, Rin lounged in his chair and looked around. “So how’s your program going?” Rin asked him, watching him cook.

“Good.” Haru said simply as he worked. “Some parts are tough, but it’s interesting. I’m looking forward to more practical classes next year, though.” Haru smiled thinking about some of the advanced marine biology courses he was hoping to take in the coming years, where he would be able to do field work. He glanced over at Rin, and a pleasant sort of chill went up his spine to see Rin watching him intently. “What about you?”

Rin nodded. “I’m enjoying it a lot, actually, I wasn’t sure at first if focusing more on criminal justice over direct policing was going to be the right fit, but I think it is.” Rin looked up and the ceiling and smiled. “I'm actually considering pursuing more law if I’m not sick of school by the time I’m done.” Haru smiled, picturing Rin as a lawyer for a moment. The imagine worked for him.

Haru placed a plate of food in front of Rin and sat as well. “Where are you… staying?” He asked Rin awkwardly, suddenly realizing he had no extra room to house Rin. Rin laughed, looking at the strained expression on Haru’s face. “I have a hotel room a few minute’s walk from here.” Hari nodded, feeling relieved. He should have known Rin would be more responsible than just showing up and winging his accommodations.

After eating, they were each sitting on the floor of the living space, chatting casually. Haru glanced out of the window and saw night falling, the lights of the bustling city coming to life. Rin laid back suddenly, and the movement caught Haru’s attention. He studied Rin again as he stretched out, arms folded behind his head on the ground. He felt that pull again, as if Rin was an ocean. It confused him. What was it his body was wanting to do?

“So.” Rin’s voice broke Haru’s reverie, and his eyes snapped from Rin’s biceps to his face as Rin looked over at him. “I kind of feel like this is an unnecessary question as we talk fairly often, but I’ve got to know.” He grinned at Haru, as if revelling in something. Haru braced himself, recognising a shark when he saw one. “Any forays into the dating world, Haru?”

Haru snorted. it was an unnecessary question. If he had, he was certain Makoto would know, which meant Nagisa might find out, which meant the entire Pacific Ocean would find out. “No.” he said flatly, flashing Rin an annoyed look which earned him another of Rin’s mirthful laughs. 

“I guess I could have expected that. Not really something I can picture you doing anyways, to be honest. It’s pretty fun though. I mean, I’ve never found anything serious, but I’ve had some good times. It has it’s perks.” Rin grinned, glancing at haru with a suggestion on his smile, a smile which faltered instantly when he looked at Haru.

Pang.

Haru felt his face go blank as a sharp feeling stabbed through his chest. He felt his breath catch in his lungs as he stared, incredulously, at Rin.

Rin sat up suddenly. “Shit, sorry Haru. I didn’t mean that as an insult. I just honestly can’t really picture you going on traditional dates, I mean, or even doing.. other stuff.” Rin looked not only awkward but panicked. Haru wondered about this. What must his face look like to make Rin look so panicky?

You’re wrong.

He wasn’t upset that Rin had said he couldn’t picture Haru dating. Haru couldn’t either. He was upset that Rin had said he’d dated. He’d never mentioned anyone, and dates, any women or men before when they’d talked. Haru had had no idea Rin had been seeing other people. Haru backtracked. Other people? People other than who? Why had his brain felt hurt, his heart? Haru himself started to panic now, confused and still feeling the pangs in his chest.

Rin leaned towards Haru and put a hand on his shoulder, close contact for the two of them. “Hey, Haru, look man I didn’t mean to insu-”

“You didn’t insult me.” Haru snapped, then felt shocked at the tone in his voice. What was going on? his voice and his face and his heart were acting on their own accord, leaving him and his consciousness to sit in the dark. Rin’s face crumpled, and he pulled his hand off Haru’s shoulder like he’d been stung. As soon as the contact was gone, Haru immediately regretted it. His body reacted, wanting Rin’s touch again.

Without warning or any forethought, Haru’s right hand shot out and caught Rin’s retreating one, grabbing it like a lifeline. Haru stared down at his own hand, fingers now intertwined with Rin’s, shock replacing the hurt and anger he’d felt just moments ago. 

Haru looked up to Rin’s face, still holding his hand tightly in midair, and saw a look on Rin’s face that etched immediately into his memories. Rin’s face was equal parts worry, panic, and a third emotion it took Haru a long time to place, He finally recognised it as the look he had when he himself looked at the Ocean, or a particularly nice pool, or.. Rin. It was excitement, and longing, and anticipation. But mixed with the uncertainty and concern on Rin’s face, the overall look was blazing, deeply emotional and deeply off putting.

Haru felt a tug behind his navel, and before he had any idea what was happening, he closed the gap between their bodies, squeezing Rin’s hand tighter still, and with no hesitation whatsoever, pressed his lips to Rin’s in a hurried, desperate kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we have chapter 3!
> 
> This didn't go in the direction I had originally planned, but I felt it come up rather organically and ranw ith it.
> 
> Thank you SO much to my readers and commenters!
> 
> A quick note about perspectives. A few people seemed concerned about the way I had written Haru in Chapter 2. The chapters will be flipping back and forth between Haru and Rin's perspectives, so in Chapter 2 the Haru we saw was the Haru through Rin's lens, not Haru himself. Hope that clarifies! I definitely find Rin easier to write than Haru :P


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